Former QPR striker Kevin Gallen is in the studio for this week’s podcast, talking about the weekend defeat at Fulham but also the state of the club behind the scenes – interesting stuff.
Gallen had been coaching youth players at QPR until earlier this season when he was unceremoniously dumped by the club’s former technical director Mike Rigg. Gallen, now coaching alongside former QPR pair Kenny Jackett and his brother Joe Gallen at Millwall, says the atmosphere at Harlington had him fearing the worst for this season while others were still flush with summer optimism.
Gallen said: “When I was at the club we had a meeting about the academy, Mike Rigg came in and spoke to 15 of us and he said our transfer policy is going to be very different, we’re looking for young players with a lot of sell on value. The next month we signed Ji-Sung Park, Cesar, Bosingwa, Nelsen and Andy Johnson. Mike Rigg was in charge of the signings. I’ve been involved in football and there are a lot of people who tell porkie pies and con a lot of people. I believed him, but when the signings came I was asking what happened to the players we were signing with a lot of sell on value?
“I was there until the middle of August and he was basically running the football side of the club. All the players like Joey Barton, Jay Bothroyd, DJ Campbell were told by Mike Rigg you have to train at 9am and come back at 4pm because they wanted them out. Could they not just say you’re not going to play, try and find yourself another club? Players dig their heels in and say ‘I’m not going anywhere.’
“That culture went through with the staff. It wasn’t a nice place to work. You were always watching your back. I’m down at Millwall and it’s not that sort of culture, everybody is trying to move in the right direction. QPR can be a bit ‘mind your back’. That culture is there because it’s always changing and everybody is scared for their job.”
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